1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a vehicle body structure. More specifically, the present invention relates to a vehicle body structure, which utilizes a mounting bracket attached to a vehicle body panel in order to extend the mounting flange of the vehicle body panel for attachment to an additional vehicle panel without difficulty to form a smooth transition between the exterior surfaces of the panels.
2. Background Information
For many years, automotive vehicles have been provided with front and rear bumpers to cushion the vehicle in the event of an impact. Also, for many years, automotive vehicles have been provided with numerous body and/or fascia panels coupled thereto to form the outer shell of the vehicle body. In recent years, it has been desirable to make vehicles with a smooth exterior shape, in which the bumpers are integrated with the overall shape of the vehicle body. Thus, in recent years, bumpers have often been provided with a bumper fascia panel mounted to the bumper that extends across the bumper and wraps around the corners of the bumper. Fender panels are often attached to the ends of the bumper fascia panels in a relatively smooth manner to integrate the bumpers into the overall outer shape of the vehicle body. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,920 shows a connection between fender panels and a front bumper fascia.
While these conventional structures work well, they suffer from some deficiencies. For instance, when these conventional vehicle panels are attached to the vehicle and attached to each other, it is sometimes difficult to attach the panels to each other. In particular, tooling access for attaching adjacent panels together is sometimes problematic due to limited space and due to the relatively small size of the attachment structures of the adjacent panels. Furthermore, when these conventional vehicle panels are attached to each other on a vehicle, the fit and finish between the vehicle panels is not always optimal.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved vehicle body structure. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.